Research Results For 'Impost'

JAMES MADISON

James Madison was the fourth president of the USA from 1809 to 1817. He was born in 1751 at Port Conway in King George County, Virginia and died in 1836. Educated at Princeton, he graduated in 1772, and was early distinguished for sound judgment, discretion, acquirements, industry and patriotism.

In 1774 he was a member of the Committee of Public Safety of Orange County, and in 1776 became a member of the Virginia Convention. From 1780 to 1784 he was a member of the Continental Congress, and, in spite of his youth and modesty, had a leading share in its deliberations, and especially its committee work, for which his sensible and methodical mind was peculiarly apt.

In the Virginia Assembly from 1784 to 1787 he did great service in securing religious liberty and in promoting the movement toward a better union of the States. Probably no one else contributed more to this end in all America. He advocated acceptance of the impost law by the states, suggesting the famous compromise known as the 'three-fifths rule' by which (in taxation) five slaves were rated as three freemen.

He was a member of the Alexandria-Mount-Vernon Conference of 1785, of the Annapolis Convention of 1786, and of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, in which he had the most influential part, through his own talents for constructive statesmanship and also through his persuasive and conciliatory spirit. His was the 'Virginia Plan' of federation in 1787.

In 1788 he wrote a portion of the Federalist and did more than any one else to secure the ratification of the Constitution by Virginia. From 1789 to 1797 he was a leading member of Congress, inclining more and more to the doctrines and party of Jefferson. He wrote the Virginia resolutions of 1798.

From 1801 to 1809 he was Secretary of State in Jefferson's Cabinet, and from 1809 to 1817 he was President of the United States, being elected over C C Pinckney in 1808, and over DeWitt Clinton in 1812. The chief event in his administration was the War of 1812, which he managed feebly. From 1817 to his death Madison lived in retirement at Montpelier, Virginia.
Research James Madison

GABELLE

Gabelle was a name originally given in France to every kind of indirect tax, as on wine, cloth, etc, but at a later period specially applied to the tax upon salt, which after being frequently imposed as a temporary means of raising money, became under Charles V a permanent impost. Under Henry II nine provinces and three counties purchased perpetual exemption from the tax, but it was only finally suppressed in France by the Constituent Assembly in 1790. About that time, out of 38,000,1100 livres raised by farmers-general from this tax, 7,000,000 at most came into the treasury.
Research Gabelle

ARCH

In architecture an arch is a usually curved member made up of separate wedge-shaped solids, with the joints between them disposed in the direction of the radii of the curve; they are used to support the wall or other weight above an opening. In this sense arches are segmental, round (i.e. semicircular), or pointed. A flat arch is a member constructed of stones cut into wedges or other shapes so as to support each other without rising in a curve. Scientifically considered, the arch is a means of spanning an opening by resolving vertical pressure into horizontal or diagonal thrust. The simplest form of an arch is two almost vertical supports lent inwards against one another.

Tile origin of the arch is involved in an obscurity which is never likely to be cleared away, and it is a disputed point where the earliest examples of its use are to be found. Some contend that it was unknown to the Greeks during the best and purest age of their architecture, and was introduced by the Romans, and some ascribe the invention of it to the Etruscans, while others assert that it was known to the ancient Egyptians. But with whatever people the arch may have originated it is certain that the Romans were the first to bring it into general use.

The influence which the arch has had in effecting changes in architecture is much greater than is generally supposed: not only may the vitiation which took place in the Roman be ascribed to it, but even the introduction of Gothic architecture, for it gradually encroached upon the leading principle of classical architecture, that the horizontal lines should be dominant, until that principle was entirely abrogated. When first introduced the arch was used quite independent of the columns and their entablature, springing from an impost behind the column, and not reaching high enough to interfere with the entablature, the impost being a few plain mouldings something in the nature of a cornice, and with no resemblance whatever to a capital, At a subsequent period this application of the arch was departed from. In the arch of Hadrian at Athens the arch is still in the same relative position in regard to the columns, but the impost is made into a positive and very rich capital, and the jamb converted into a pier or pilaster with a separate base; the arch also itself rises so high as to cut into the architrave of the entablature although the frieze and cornice are uninterrupted.

At the aqueduct of Hadrian, also at Athens, the arch springs from the architrave of the entablature above the columns and entirely breaks off the continuity of the frieze and cornice, so that the principle of the leading lines being horizontal is entirely destroyed. When once the application of the arch above the columns had been introduced, it appears never to have been abandoned, and the entablature was either broken into angles or altogether interrupted to suit the arch, the principal object aimed at being an appearance of height and spaciousness. In some instances the entablature is omitted entirely, and. the arch rises directly from the capital of the column, as in Gothic architecture.

When, after the dominion of the Romans was destroyed, and the rules governing the true proportions of architecture, from which they had themselves so widely departed, were entirely lost, the nations of Europe began again to erect large buildings, they would naturally endeavour to copy the structures of the Romans; but it was not to have been expected, even supposing they were capable of imitating them exactly, that they would have retained the clumsy, and to them unmeaning appendage of a. broken entablature, but would have placed the arch at once on the top of the column, as we know they did; hence arose the various styles which preceded the introduction of the pointed arch, including the Norman. Antiquaries are not agreed upon the origin of the pointed arch, some contending that it is an importation from the east, and others that it is the invention of the countries in which Gothic architecture prevailed, and these last are again divided in opinion as to the manner in which it was discovered; but be its origin what it may, the pointed arch was not introduced to general use on this side of Europe until the latter half of the twelfth century. From that time it continued, under various modifications, to be the prevailing form in the countries in which Gothic architecture flourished, until the revival of the classical orders: one of the best authenticated instances of the use of the pointed arch in England is the circular part of the; Temple Church of London, which was dedicated in 1185. The choir of Canterbury Cathedral, commenced in 1175, is usually referred to as the earliest example in England, and none of earlier date has been authenticated.

The only forms of arch known to have been used by the ancients were the semicircle, the segment, and ellipse, all which continued prevalent until the pointed arch appeared, and even after that period they were occasionally employed in all the styles of Gothic architecture. In the Romanesque and Norman styles, the centre, or point from which the curve of the arch is struck, is not infrequently found to be above the line of the impost, and the mouldings between these two levels are either continued vertically (to which arrangement the tern stilted has been applied), or they are slightly inclined inwards, or the curve is prolonged until it meets the impost: these two latter forms arc called horse-shoe arches: pointed arches are sometimes elevated in a similar manner, especially in the Early English style, and are called by the same names but they are principally used in Moorish architecture.

The proportions given to the simple pointed arch (known in French as an ogive) are threefold: the equilateral, which is formed on an equilateral triangle; the lancet, formed on an acute angled triangle, and the drop arch, formed on an obtuse angled triangle; these together with the segmental pointed arch are the prevailing forms used in Early English work although trefoiled arches, cinquefoiled, etc, of various proportions, are frequently met with, especially towards the end of the style, but they are principally used in panellings, niches, and other small openings. Simple pointed arches were used by all the styles of Gothic architecture, though not with the same frequency; the lancet arch is common in the Early English, and is sometimes found in the Decorated, but is very rarely met with in the Perpendicular; the drop arch and the equilateral abound in the two first styles, and in the early part of the Perpendicular, but they afterwards in great measure gave way to the four-centred. Plain and pointed segmental arches also are frequently used for windows in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, but not often for other openings.

With the Decorated style was introduced the ogee arch, or arcade en talon, which continued to be used throughout the Perpendicular style, although less frequently than in the Decorated; it is very common over niches, tombs, and small doorways, and in Northamptonshire in the arches of windows, but difficulty of constructing it securely precluded its general adoption for large openings. About the commencement of the Perpendicular style the four-centred arch appeared as a general form, and continued in use until the revival of classical architecture; when first introduced the proportions were bold and effective, but it was gradually more and more depressed until the whole principle, and almost the top of an arch was lost, for it became so flat as to be frequently cut in a single stone, which was applied as a lintel over the head of an opening. In some instances an arch, having the effect of a four-centred arch, is found, of which the sides are perfectly straight, except at the lower angles next to the impost; it is generally a sign of late and bad work, and prevailed most during the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and James I.

The four-centred arch appears never to have been brought into general use out of England, although the flamboyant style of the continent, which was cotemporary with our Perpendicular, underwent the same gradual debasement; the depressed arches used in flamboyant work are flattened ellipses, or sometimes, as in late Perpendicular, ogees, and not infrequently the head of an opening is made straight, with the angles only rounded off; this last form and the flattened ellipse are very rarely met with in England.

The foregoing enumeration includes all the leading variety of arches, but it must be obvious that many of them may be considerably modified by forming them of different curves. There is also the rampant arch, the imposts of which are at different levels; and what is called a flat arch, which is constructed with stones cut into wedges or other shapes so as to support each other without rising into a curve, and considerable ingenuity is often displayed in the formation of these. Notice must also be taken of a construction which is not infrequently used as a substitute for an arch, especially in the style which is referred to as perhaps being Saxon, and which produces a very similar effect; it consists of two straight stones set upon their edge and leaning against each other at the top, so as to form two sides of a triangle and support a superincumbent weight; excepting in the style just alluded to, these are only used in rough work, or in situations in which they would not be seen, as on the insides of the belfry windows at Goodnestone church, near Wingham, Kent.

There is one form given to the heads of openings, which is frequently called an arch, although it is not one. It consists of a straight lintel, supported on a corbel in each jamb, projecting into the opening so as to contract its width; the mouldings, or splay of the jambs and head, being usually continued on the corbels, producing an effect something like a flattened trefoil; the corbels are usually cut into a hollow curve on the under side, but they occasionally vary in form. These heads are most commonly used for doorways: in the southern parts of. the kingdom they are not abundant, and when found are generally of Early English date, but in the north they are much more frequent, and were used to a considerably later period. In France, where the actual openings of the doorways are so constantly made square, while all the leading mouldings are arched, a corbel is very frequently found in a similar situation, which is often ornamented or carvel into a figure.
Research Arch

CHAPTREL

A chaptrel is a type of impost forming the capital of a pier or pilaster which receives an arch.
Research Chaptrel

COUSSINET

In architecture, a coussinet is a stone placed on the impost of a pier for receiving the first stone of an arch. The term is also applied to that part of the Ionic capital between the abacus and quarter round, which forms the volute.
Research Coussinet

DOOR

In architecture a doorway or door is the entrance into a building, or into an apartment of a building. Among the ancients doorways were usually rectangular in form, though occasionally the opening diminished towards the top, until architecture became corrupted in the latter times of the Roman empire, when they were sometimes arched; when not arched they generally had a suit of mouldings, called an architrave, running round them, and there were often additional mouldings over the top supported by a large console or truss at each end. The doors were of wood, or metal, and occasionally of marble, panelled, and frequently, if not always, turned on pivots working in sockets.

In the architecture of the middle ages doorways are striking and important features, and afford in the character of their mouldings and ornaments clear evidence of the styles to which they belong. In the Saxon style they are always plain, with very little, if any, moulding, excepting in some instances a crude impost, and even that is frequently a plain stone slightly projecting from the face of the wall, as at Laughton-en-le-Morthen church, Yorkshire. The arches are semicircular, and (like all the rest of the work) crudely constructed, but in some instances the head of the opening is formed by two straight pieces of stone placed upon their ends on the impost, and leaning together at the top so as to produce the form of a triangle, as at Barnack and Brigstock churches, Northamptonshire.

In the Norman style doorways became more ornamental, though at its commencement very little decoration was used. In the earliest examples the jambs and archivolt were merely cut into square recesses, or angles without mouldings, with a simple impost at the springing of the arch but as the style advanced, mouldings and other enrichments were introduced, and continued to be applied in increasing numbers until they sometimes nearly or quite equalled the breadth of the opening of the doorway, fine examples of which remain at Lincoln cathedral. The ornaments were used almost entirely on the outside, the inside usually being (as in all the styles of Gothic architecture) perfectly plain. Norman doorways differ considerably in their character and ornaments, scarcely any two being alike.

The arch is commonly semicircular, though occasionally segmental or horseshoe, the mouldings and enrichments are numerous, but are generally bold and good, and, though not so well worked as those of the later styles, they generally equal and sometimes surpass them in richness and force of effect. The outer moulding of the arch sometimes stops upon the impost, producing the effect of a weather-moulding, although it does not project from the face of the wall. Weather-mouldings also are very frequently used, and they either stop upon the impost or terminate in carved corbels. Shafts are often, but not always, used in the jambs. They are generally circular, but occasionally octagonal, and are sometimes ornamented with zigzags or spiral mouldings. The capitals are usually in some degree enriched, and are often carved with figures and foliage. The impost-moulding above the caps generally runs through the whole jamb, and is frequently continued along the wall as a string.

Some of the most usual ornaments in Norman doorways are zigzags of various kinds, and series of grotesque heads, set in a hollow moulding, with projecting tongues or beaks overlapping a large torus or bead. Small figures and animals are also frequently used, and occasionally the signs of the zodiac, as at Iffley, Oxfordshire, and St Margaret's, York, where there are thirteen, according to the Saxon calendar.

The actual opening of the doorway is often flat at the top, and rises no higher than the springing of the arch; the tympanum, or space between the top of the opening and the arch, is sometimes left plain, but is generally ornamented, and frequently sculptured with a crude representation of some scriptural or legendary subject.

Early English doorways generally have pointed arches though a few have semicircular, and occasionally the top of the opening is flat. In large examples the mouldings are very numerous, and the jambs contain several small shafts which usually stand quite free, and are often of Purbeck or Forest marble, or some fine stone of a different kind from the rest of the work. The jamb is generally cut into recesses to receive these mouldings between each of them. In small doorways there is often only one shaft in each jamb, and sometimes none. The capitals are generally enriched with delicate leaves, but they often consist of plain mouldings. The archivolt, and the spaces between the shafts in the jambs, are frequently enriched with the toothed ornament, or with leaves and other decorations characteristic of the style, but in some very good examples they have only plain mouldings.

The opening of the doorway is often divided into two by a single shaft, or a clustered column, with a quatrefoil or other ornament above it. There is almost invariably a weather-moulding over the arch, which is generally supported on a head at each end.

In many instances the inner mouldings of the head are formed into a trefoil or cinquefoil arch, the points of which generally terminate in small flowers or leaves, and in some small doorways the whole of the mouldings follow these forms. Fine examples of the doorways of this style remain at the cathedrals of York, Lincoln, Salisbury, Chichester, and Lichfield, (this last with some singularities,) at Beverley Minster, and at St Cross, Hampshire.

There are also small doorways of this style with a straight top, with the lintel supported at each end on a corbel, which projects into the opening so as to contract its width, having very much the appearance of a flattened trefoil. In the northern parts of the United Kingdom this form is by no means confined to the Early English style, but in other districts it is not very often found in later work.

Decorated style doorways are not in general so deeply recessed as those of the Early English style, but they very much resemble them in the mouldings and shafts in the jambs. There are .a few examples, chiefly early in the style, in which the opening is divided into two, as at York Minster, but this is not the usual arrangement. The shafts in the jambs are usually of slighter proportions than in the Early English style, and, instead of being worked separate, form part of the general suit of mouldings. The capitals consist either of plain mouldings, or are enriched with leaves of different kinds characteristic of the style.

Many small doorways have no shafts in the jambs, but the mouldings of the arch are continued down to the plinth, where they stop upon a slope. The arch in large doorways is almost invariably pointed. In smaller doorways the arch is frequently an ogee and sometimes segmental. The mouldings are very commonly enriched with flowers, foliage, and other ornaments, which are sometimes in running patterns, but very often placed separately at short intervals. The most prevalent are the ball-flower, and another of four leaves, which is frequently worked with a bold projection that produces a very fine effect; both these are characteristic of the Decorated style. Occasionally a series of small niches, with statues in them, like a hollow moulding, are carried up the jambs and round the arch and sometimes doubly feathered tracery, hanging quite free from some of the outer mouldings, is used in the arch, and has a very rich effect.

Small buttresses or niches are sometimes placed at the sides of the doorways. A weather-moulding is almost universally used. It is generally supported at each end on a boss of foliage, or a corbel, which is frequently a head, but it sometimes terminates in a curl or a short return. It is seldom continued along the wall. Occasionally it is crocketed and surmounted at the top by a finial, especially when in the form of an ogee, or it has a finial and no crockets.

In rich examples canopies are common over Decorated style doorways they are either triangular, or ogees with crockets and finials, the space between them and the mouldings of the arch being filled with tracery-panels, foliage, or sculpture.

In the Perpendicular style a very considerable change took place in the appearance of the doorways, from the outer mouldings being constantly formed into a square over the arch, with the spandrels feathered or filled with ornaments, either tracery, foliage, or sculpture; this square head however is not universal. Shafts are often, though by no means always, used in the jambs. They are usually small, and are always worked on the jamb with the other mouldings, and frequently are not clearly defined, except by the capital and base, the other mouldings uniting with them without a fillet, or even an angle to mark the separation. The capitals usually consist of plain mouldings, but in some instances they are enriched with foliage or flowers. There are generally one or more large hollows in the jambs, sometimes filled with niches for statues, but more often left plain. These large hollows are characteristics of the Perpendicular style. In this style the four-centred arch was
brought into general use, and became the most prevalent for doorways as well as other openings. Many, however, have two-centred arches, and in small doorways ogees are sometimes used. A very few have elliptical arches.
Research Door

DRIPSTONE

In architecture, a dripstone (also called a hood moulding, label, weather-moulding, water-table, or hoodmould) is a projecting tablet or moulding over the heads of doorways, windows, archways, niches, etc, in Norman and Gothic architecture, either for ornament or to throw off the rain. It is used both in internal and external work. It is not in general carried below the level of the springing of the arch, except over windows in which the tracery extends below that level, when it is usually continued to the bottom of the tracery; occasionally it descends the whole length of the jamb, as at the north doorway of Otham church, Kent.

In the Norman style the dripstone does not in general project much from the face of the wall, and it usually consists of a few very simple mouldings, often of a flat fillet with a splay or slight hollow on the lower side, and it is frequently enriched with billets or other small ornaments; sometimes it is continued horizontally on the wall as a spring, level with the springing of the arch, but it oftener stops upon a corbel or on the impost-moulding, which is prolonged far enough to receive it.

In the Early English style, the dripstone is generally rather small, but clearly defined, with a deep hollow on the lower side; it varies however considerably in mouldings and proportion. It usually terminates with a small corbel (very frequently a head), or a boss of foliage, sometimes with a short horizontal return, and sometimes it is carried along the wall as a string.

In the two preceding styles the dripstone follows the general shape of the arch, but in the Decorated style it frequently takes the form of an ogee, while the arch is of a simple curve, and in such cases it is very commonly surmounted by a finial and is often crocketed, when it is sometimes called a canopy. It is very rarely continued along the wall in the Decorated style, but terminates with a short return, as at St. Martin's Canterbury; or on a corbel head, a boss of foliage, or some other sculptured ornament; or the end is tuned up or curled in several ways, which are characteristic of the style, as at Chippenham.

In the Perpendicular style, when the outer mouldings of doorways and other openings, etc, are arranged in a square over the arch, the dripstone follows the same form. In other cases it follows the curve of the arch or is changed to an ogee, and has sometimes a finial and crockets on it, as in the Decorated style it is not infrequently continued horizontally along the wall as a string, but this is not the most usual arrangement. It very commonly terminates with a head, an animal, or other sculptured ornament, sometimes with a shield or an heraldic device, as at the west doorway of Crowhurst church, Sussex. It also frequently ends in a circular, square, or octagonal return, which usually encloses a small flower or other ornament; a plain horizontal return is likewise very common.
Research Dripstone

FLAMBOYANT

Flamboyant is a term designating a style of Gothic architecture in use in France about the same period with the Perpendicular style in England, that is, from the 14th to the 16th century, having prevailed during the whole of the 15th century. It was distinguished by the waving and somewhat flame-like tracery of the windows, panels, etc. (hence the name), and is usually regarded as a decadent variety of the decorated Gothic. The mouldings in this style are often ill combined, some of the members being disproportionately large or small. The pillars are often cylindrical, either plain or with a few of the more prominent mouldings of the arches continued down them, with out any capital or impost intervening. This is so common that it may be regarded as a characteristic of the style. Mouldings also sometimes meet and interpenetrate each other. The arches are usually two-centred, sometimes semi-circular, and in later examples, elliptical. The foliage enrichments are usually well carved, but the effect is often lost from the
minuteness and intricacy of the parts.
Research Flamboyant

HANSE

In architecture a hanse is a part of an elliptical or many-cantered arch which has the shorter radius and immediately adjoins the impost.
Research Hanse

IMPOST

In architecture an impost is the top member of a pillar, pier, wall, etc., upon which the weight of an arch rests. The impost is called continuous, if the mouldings of the arch or architrave run down the jamb or pier without a break.

In classical architecture the form of the impost varies in the several orders. Sometimes the entablature of an order serves for the impost of an arch. Hosking observes that, 'sometimes, and more conveniently, this term is used for the pilaster itself, when its capital is called the impost-cap or impost-mouldings'. In middle age architecture imposts vary according to the style. On pillars and the small shafts in the jambs of doorways, windows, etc, they are usually complete capitals. When shafts are used in the jambs of archways, it is usual in the Norman style for the abacus of the capitals to be continued through the whole suit of mouldings, and it is sometimes carried along the walls as a string. This arrangement is also occasionally used in the Early English. When there are no shafts there is frequently in the former of these styles, and occasionally in the latter, an impost-moulding running through the jambs which in section resembles an abacus.

In the Decorated and Perpendicular styles it is not common to find any impost-mouldings in the jambs of archways, except the capitals of the small shafts.
Research Impost

	The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by Matt and Leela Probert ©1993 - 2010 The Probert Encyclopaedia Southampton, United Kingdom